The selection of a genotype for lawn use must consider the plant survival rate and its soil covering ability, which is directly influenced by the growth of stolons and rhizomes. This study aimed to evaluate the growth and development of Paspalum accession plugs for turfgrass establishment. Plugs of six prostrate growth accessions of Paspalum lepton (PL 01), P. notatum (from PN 01 to PN 06) and Zoysia japonica (ZJ 01), which was used as the control treatment, were planted adding up to 7 treatments. At 63 days after planting, the survival rate, the number of shoots, the expansion capacity, plant height and soil coverage rate were evaluated. Moreover, at 72 days after planting, fresh and dry leaf, root, rhizome and/or stolon biomass, as well as root length were evaluated. Plugs of PL 01 presented the highest values regarding the number of shoots, the expansion capacity, soil coverage and the development of the root system with the largest biomass production. PL 01 and PN 05 along with ZJ 01 presented a high soil coverage rate and all the P. notatum (PN) accessions together with ZJ 01 maintained a lower plant height, but with a length root system higher than the control treatment ZJ 01. The P. lepton (PL 01) and P. notatum (PN 05) accessions can be recommended for turfgrass establishment using plug propagation methods.

Researches with Brazilian native species of Axonopus and Paspalum genus have indicated their lawn-use. Thus, this research aimed to evaluate the use of sprigs, which are rhizomes and/or stolons fragments of plants without substrate and with reduced aerial part, as a propagation method for turfgrass establishment. Two experiments were developed. Experiment 1: turfgrass sods (1026 cm²) from Axonopus parodii (AP 01), Paspalum lepton (PL 01) and P. notatum (PN 01 to PN 06) accessions, were fragmented in a straw crushing machine in order to obtain the sprigs. After cleaning the substrate and organic residues from the sprigs, the following variables were analyzed: total number of sprigs; minimum, maximum and average length of the sprigs; standard deviation; number of sprigs shorter than 2 cm, from 2 to 4 cm, and from 4 to 6 cm long. Experiment 2: sprigs from three different length classes were planted and evaluated at 63 days after planting. The commercial variety Zoysia japonica (ZJ 01) was used as a control treatment. The following characters were analyzed: the survival rate of the sprigs, the number of shoots, expansion, soil coverage rate, dry biomass of aerial part, and dry biomass of the roots. Correlations were made among the data obtained. Higher yields were obtained for sprigs shorter than 2 cm and from 2 to 4 cm. All accessions presented better development when established with sprigs longer than 2 cm. The Paspalum notatum accessions PN 01, PN 02, PN 03 and PN 05 could be selected for turfgrass establishment by sprigs propagation.